Insider: Kenny Moore's physicality, playmaking made him the perfect fit for Colts defense

The Indianapolis Colts play the Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round on Saturday.
Clark Wade, Clark.Wade@Indystar.com

Colts cornerback Kenny Moore (23) celebrates stopping the Texans on a 4th down play during their AFC Wild Card playoff game at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX., on Jan. 5, 2019.(Photo: Matt Kryger/IndyStar)

Story Highlights

Not so soon, maybe not at any point. A 5-9 cornerback from a Division II school, undrafted and cut by the first team that signed him, too small for the second team that signed him, is not the type of prospect the NFL expects to develop into a game-changer.

Not even Kenny Moore thought he’d come this far, this fast.

“Maybe I didn’t see myself doing as much as I am, having the role that I have right now in year two,” Moore said. “Maybe something along those lines, but as far as where I am right now, no.”

Moore is the big-play machine in the Colts’ secondary, a demolition expert lobbing bombs into the best-laid plans of opposing offenses, a budding star who has made a name across the NFL the past two weeks by making big plays with the entire league watching.

One week after he picked off Blaine Gabbert on “Sunday Night Football” and ended any realistic hopes the Tennessee Titans had of stealing the AFC’s final playoff berth away from the Colts, Moore was all over the field in the wild-card round against the Houston Texans.

Moore picked off Deshaun Watson at the end of the first quarter, sacked him in the third, shoved Texans running back Lamar Miller back into Watson on Houston’s final offensive play of the game to seal the win.

“The No. 1 thing he brings is his playmaking ability,” Colts cornerback Quincy Wilson said. “The plays he makes get everybody going. You see him hit somebody hard, he picks off another pass, it just brings energy to the entire team.”

Indianapolis Colts cornerback Kenny Moore (23) and his teammates celebrate his interception in the first half of their AFC Wild Card playoff game at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX., on Saturday, Jan. 5, 2019.(Photo: Matt Kryger/IndyStar)

The rest of the NFL might not have known much about Moore until the past two weeks.

But this is who he’s been all year.

“You can just feel it,” Colts coach Frank Reich said. “You can just feel him getting better and better, his impact growing and growing.”

Nobody could have known it at the time — the Colts were still a full season away from firing Chuck Pagano and moving away from the 3-4 — but Ballard was claiming a cornerback who fit perfectly in the defense Matt Eberflus would bring to Indianapolis this offseason. Eberflus’ Tampa-2 scheme requires hard-nosed cornerbacks who tackle and create turnovers, players like former Buccaneers star Ronde Barber or Charles Tillman in Chicago.

Moore might be small, but he plays with the ferocity of a middle linebacker.

“The most important thing he possesses is his attitude,” Eberflus said. “When you talk about a guy that you want to stand there and say, ‘Hey, this is what we are looking for in terms of attitude, character and the way in which we want our guys to play,’ you can point to that.”

Moore’s physicality also makes him the perfect cornerback to play in the slot.

The role of a slot cornerback, more commonly called the nickel, has changed. As NFL offenses have shifted to running most of their plays out of three-receiver formations, the nickel has become equal parts cover corner and strong-side linebacker, a player who has to be able to make plays at the line of scrimmage.

Moore is a ferocious tackler despite his size, and as the Texans found out last week, he’s an excellent blitzer. Miller outweighs Moore by roughly 30 pounds; the Colts’ cornerback shoved him back into Watson like he was a blocking sled.

“I think you’ve got to have that tenacity, that mindset that I’m going to make it, and if not, I’m going to keep blitzing until I make it,” Moore said.

Moore is also intelligent, so smart that his role in the Colts’ defense is much larger than most nickels. Unlike a lot of slot cornerbacks, who come off the field when the defense lines up in its base 4-3 or 3-4, Moore simply shifts to the outside.

There is a big difference between outside cornerback and playing in the slot. For starters, an outside cornerback has fewer receivers to identify and track, and they do not get involved in run support as often.

If a player handles both roles, like Moore, he has to be able to keep the two positions separate. The Colts defense often runs the same plays out of different formations; Moore’s responsibility changes depending on where he’s lining up, and he has to be able to keep it straight.

“You’ve just got to be aware of where you are,” Moore said.

Moore thrives in the dual role. He led the Colts with three interceptions and 11 passes defended. Racked up 76 tackles and 1.5 sacks, forced the fumble that sealed a win over Jacksonville in the first meeting between the two teams.

Outside of All-Pro linebacker Darius Leonard and maybe defensive tackle Denico Autry, Moore has been the defense’s most consistent big-play machine, a role he never could have seen coming when the season began.

“You don’t really know your potential until your potential escalates, whenever you actually get to that point where you look around and you’re just like, ‘Wow,’” Moore said. “You grind for a year, pick your head up after that year, and you can really surprise yourself with how far you’ve come.”